Cosmocade was a rather ambitious project for Brian and Dave, wanting to create
multiple games to sit under the Cosmocade banner, they were really pushing
the envelope as to the limitations of what the IIGS was technically capable
of. It also marked their last work for the IIGS.

The first game, Journey to Calibus, is a top down vertical shooter in the
tradition of Xevious. This in itself was a bold move, because the IIGS has
never been known for smooth scrolling of large areas. Technically, the game
comes off 'all right', although gameplay can really drag when there's a lot
of action going on. An accelerator card can help with this however.

The game can only be played with a joystick. The gameplay itself is OK - it
becomes a little too repetitive although it does offer the chance to increase
your firepower and take on bosses at the end of every level. And if you want,
you can make your own levels with the built in level editor.

The second game, Naxos, places players in an Operation Wolf style scenario
whereby you use the mouse to blow away the hostile alien fauna and flora you
encounter in a god forsaken alien jungle.

The game itself is let down by its gameplay - the graphics, music and programming
are all first rate, but the game becomes incredibly difficult and unnecessarily
frustrating when it comes to ammunition, which drops from the top of the screen
in the form of cherries. However, they drop so damn fast, they are very difficult
to shoot. This does become easier on later levels, when the screen fills up
with nasties and the game slows down under the weight of the action, and the
cherries with it, but even still, chances are you will end up dying because
you ran out of ammunition.

Cosmocade includes an operating system but can run happily from System 6 as
well.